Another Dreamer
by NamelessStoryTeller
Summary: Meeting him was pure coincidence. Befriending him was a choice. Promising him her dreams was beyond her reasoning. Steering his ship was a chance. Loving this crew was fate. Follow along Nora, the girl who's bluntness is as bad as her captain's, discover her past, chase her dreams, fight against the borders of sanity on the crew and steer the helm towards achieving his dream.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** **I hope you enjoy the start of something most probably overdone, but also unique in its own sense.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own One Piece ( I am an penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs**

 **I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 1: Orange_**

* * *

 _"Tell me, what was she like?"_

 _"She was an interesting young girl whose inability to not say the first thing that came to her mind made her quite eerily extraordinary."_

 _"What did she look like? Was she like him?"_

 _"In a way, she was. When I first met her, she had short and dark hair which reached only to her neck accompanied by bangs that were uncontrollably all over the place. However, she had the most sincere blue eyes that understood more than they let on. It was hard not to be caught off guard by eyes which showed so much warm emotion. What perhaps was most intriguing about her were her big ears. Ha, I admit we teased her endlessly about them._

 _She was quite short at first, but that changed over the years. On her left hand, there was always an old watch she called more precious than any gold in the world. Strange as it may be, it was always frozen in the same time, yet she claimed it was always different. But perhaps, maybe she was right. Nobody understood time better than her….."_

 _"What did the marking on her shou…"_

* * *

" _Join my crew!"_

" _I refuse."_

" _I refuse your refusal!"_

" _Dammit."_

" _Oi, Nora, don't agree so easily!"_

* * *

Everything was going so smoothly and brilliantly. It was a promising day whose bright rays showered the vicinity with serenity and cheerfulness. If she inhaled more deeply to the sweet breeze of soft wind, she may have even forgotten how terribly late she was to her given promise. One week late was the specific amount. However, considering the lovely weather and mysteriously isolated town she had been walking around, Nora found her heart clenching in mischievous excitement and boldness towards the sense of adventure. Her promise, she told herself, would have to stay patient for a little more while. Everything would have gone smoothly and brilliantly.

If only those fucking poor excuse for circus clowns weren't chasing after her.

First, there was a dull looking but pissed off beyond measure bear-ears having man covered in permanent paint who rode on his more pissed off wild lion.

Then, there was an even duller looking but also pissed off beyond measure tall guy covered in fruit who rode on a unicycle.

Finally, there were three other dull looking men, who looked as pissed as they were hideous, but without a doubt resembled part of a freak show.

The bright blue eyed girl sighed as she continued running.

How did she even get herself in such situation in the first place, anyway?

She hadn't done anything remotely wrong.

…Maybe she had, but that was beside the point.

It really wasn't. That was the whole point and she knew she had screwed up which perfectly explained why she was being chased.

In her defense, she didn't do anything ill-intentionally.

 **...**

Nora knew from the moment she tied her small dinghy to the isolated dock, that this town would be one of 'those' towns. However, without having any navigational equipment such as a log pose or a map, the girl silently thanked her luck and directional intuition for getting herself to shore so soon. A loud grumble of inhumanity interrupted her thankful speech and indicated something extremely important and vital.

She was hungry.

With one last look at the dinghy, which she hoped she would exchange for something more convenient for sea travel, she started walking towards the direction of the town with a great pound of enthusiasm in her mind.

Nonetheless, Nora stood true to her hunch. The town was completely empty and vacant in the sense that not a single person was visible on the streets, all taking shelter inside their homes or away from them. For a moment, the girl thought it was strange but then had a second thought that maybe something had threatened and scared them from crowding the town. It didn't help her situation one bit, though. She was extremely hungry and while she had been wondering for a bout an hour, Nora hadn't found anything nor anyone. Enthusiasm was dismissed as childish irritation became its replacement. One precious hour had been wasted, as she checked her precious old hand watch. Exactly one hour.

'I'll probably barge into one of the houses if I don't find someone soon…'

But then, her eyes widened in surprise as she heard footsteps running away from her. It took one second to turn around and another one to register a brightly orange haired lady running away from her with a somewhat smug look on her face. In her hands, tightly grasped, was a money bag.

… It couldn't have been Nora's remaining berries; they were secured in her back shorts pocket in a bag.

Sonnuva….!

The dumbfounded girl pouted in irritation. Nevertheless, she held her right hand in front herself with her palm open upwards. She focused slightly, muttered a soft command and grasped her fingers to form a fist.

'Reverse'

Suddenly, the blue-eyed girl was turned backwards, as her previous situation before being robbed. This time she turned around quickly and came face to face with a blood-drained face of the orange haired thief. Nora titled her head slightly in confusion when the orange haired continued to stare at her with frightened eyes while not daring to move her hand which lingered midair.

"Are you okay? - The confused girl wondered while she let herself discover that she was a few inches shorter than the thief. Not fair. – I had to break my hand for this sack, you know." And she showed the bag of coins in her own hand.

"Y-You…H-h-how…I…" Came the almost voiceless mutters.

The girl, however, waved her off with an excited smile. It was a waste to fret about the past even if it was only a few seconds ago. All was forgotten.

"Later. Do you know where can I get some food?"

Gulping, the orange hair nodded.

 **...**

"So, you ate a Devil Fruit?" Nami puzzled as she propped her head against her hand, sipping on her coffee occasionally.

"Mhm. The Jikan Jikan no Mi. It allows me to control and manipulate time in a certain vicinity and to a certain extend. But let me tell you, it was the most disgusting thing I have ever dared to eat. I wouldn't recommend it." Answered the dark, short hair as she gulped down the last of her much wanted meal.

"Then, it makes you somewhat of a Time Human, right?"

"I suppose so."

"What are you doing on this island anyway, Nora?"

"I got lost."

Nami sweatdropped at her answer. But, the companion in front of her stretched her arms above her head and grinned widely.

"Maa, thanks for the meal anyways, Miss Nami." The said girl managed to crack a smile at her companion's sincere politeness.

"Nami is just fine…"

"Why did you take my bag though?"

"I'm a thief."

"Is that a full-time job or…?"

"Just a hobby."

"Riiiiiight."

"So, why did you say you broke your hand for that lousy amount of coins? There are no more than 10 000 berri in it."

"How do you even know how many berri are there?"

"I held the bag."

"I don't know whether to be amused or scared."

"Aren't you going to answer?

"Later." An irritated glare shot her way.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask. What's does that mean, on your shoulder?" The orange head asked as she pointed towards the symbolic-like tattoo on the girl's shoulder, seeing as it was exposed from her tank top. Nora subconsciously put her hand on the markings and showed a small smile.

"It's a mystery to me as well. I can't seem to remember what it means." Nami nodded in a somewhat confused understanding.

But then a dangerously glint passed her eyes and her small smile turned into a smirk. Nora did not like the sudden change whatsoever. It promised nothing good.

"Say, Nora-chan. – came the much too sweet voice of hers and Nora felt a shiver breeze through her spine. – Do you think you could repay my generous meal by doing me a tiny favor?"

While the shiver still stung on her back, Nora convinced herself that Nami wouldn't mean any harm, even though technically, she didn't even knew the girl.

"Sure!" She said excitedly and missed the small chuckle of pure evil emitting from Nami.

 **...**

The word 'distraction' had two different outcomes of meaning. The first one was safe and playful. You would pinpoint something, or come up with a small lie in order to erase the focus from your target. The second one resulted mostly in anger and a mob of pissed of people wanting to strangle you. When Nami had said 'I want you to be a distraction while I try to steal the map of the Grand Line from a pirate crew' Nora didn't consider the second aforementioned possibility.

So, it should have been a surprise when she found herself in front of a red-nosed clown smirking down at her with her knees on the ground and hands tied in a rope. His smirk was most unyielding and creepy, but Nora managed not to make any gagging noises or a disgusted face. A blank expression was all she wore, ignoring whatever he was saying to her and wondering where Nami had gone. That sneaky fox.

"And who might you be?" Cue hiccuping-like laughing. The girl's eye slightly twitched at the noise, trying her hardest not to burst out laughing.

"Is your nose natural?"

Eh?

"I'm not judging, I'm just surprised you're not suffocating while wearing the red thing."

"SAYS THE GIRL WITH ELEPHANT EARS."

"Hey now, at least mine don't look creepy."

"…" For a lack of better words, the whole crew shuddered in fright and remained speechless at the girl's bluntness, silently waiting their captain's rage to burst. To their surprise his eyes twitched in anger, but managed to chuckle darkly, masking his urging desire to kick the crap out of the girl in front of him.

"Didn't anyone teach you manners, you brat!?"

"Has anyone told you your make up is seriously on point? I mean, really, you've taken 'clown face' up a notch."

"See where your obliviousness takes you, you damn bitch." He hissed.

"You're really rude for a clown. I think you should re-evaluate your career choice." And she threw him a raspberry which was not a really good idea, seeing as it only pissed him off even more. Even the familiar orange head was muttering at how stupid this girl's choice of words were behind one of the tents, listening and looking at the conversation the whole time. The dark haired shorty clearly wanted to see God early.

"You're too damn blunt for me to have fun with you. I'm trying to decide whether to torture you or kill you." Buggy smirked sadistically. Meanwhile, Nora continued staring him, squinting her eyes as if she was trying to see something. At that moment, the girl stood up, rope falling freely from her hands and her looked at her big, old hand watch on her left hand. She nodded with a hum as she saw the time.

"I see. It seems it is time to not give a damn. Now, if you excuse me Red nose-san, I have to go pet that gigantic lion over there."

The clown lost it.

"KILL THIS BITCH." At least she was polite.

And all the monkey clowns started charging at her, swords held high with the intention to slice her up. As if it wasn't obvious enough.

"We've got her surrounded!" They yelled and laughed, circling her from each angle. But at that exact moment, just as their swords swung to fatally hit her, the pirates' face kissed the ground, hitting each other with their swords and stumbling to the spot where the girl had been. Buggy looked bemused and irritated while shock and surprise spread across the crew.

"Where..?"

"She was just there!"

"Where did she disappear?!"

"Oi, I'm still here. Answered the same blue-eyed girl who was now meters away from the fallen bunch, tilting her head in confusion.

"GET HER!"

"SHE WON'T GET AWAY THIS TIME."

"CHARGE." And they did the absolute same thing as before. What they got was exact same result, nothing in the spot of the girl, only the solid ground pained on their faces.

"Don't tell me…"

"She CAN TELEPORT?"

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"Are you guys brain-dead or something?" Once again the girl was tilting her head in confusion as she stood in a different spot. She saw the clown muttering something to the man on top of the lion which she wished to pet. Judging by his gritted teeth and furious eyes, Buggy was certainly pissed off.

Suddenly, the same lion and tamer charged towards her, along with other freak shows and it was then that the girl's eyes widened in surprise and slight excitement. Her fingers reached out to her back to grasp a familiar surface of hard wood. Her hand tightened the hold of the big baseball-like bat. She, then waited as the lion and men ran towards her.

The moment they could hit her, she warped behind the big lion and swung the bat with all her strength, sending the bear-eared man flying away, precisely to one of the smaller tents where he soaked himself in some kind of colorful paint along the way. Nora laughed as she sat on the lions back unbecomingly. The beast roared and jumped, trying to push the female away, yet the girl remain in her spot, securing her bat on her back once more so she could hold on more tightly with both of her hands. As the lion continued with its jumping and protesting, it kicked and pushed every pirate near it, blinded by its anger and instinct to kill this brat on his back.

It was truly a sight to behold. At least her wish came true. Sort of.

But alas, the clumsiness hit her at the right moment when she let go of her arm and the lion's strength managed to send her away. And this time, the girl couldn't warp herself out of the moment, as she was flying in air. Her crash wasn't the most painful one, but it hurt her back nonetheless. She wheezed the pain though she found herself laughing the next second.

"You're sure are a boring lion." And suddenly she put her hands over her mouth. Damn.

Perhaps, it would have been smarter to keep shut, but, as God given, the cheeky girl just didn't know when to zip her mouth.

A furious lion, a crowd of angry pirates and a man on a freaking unicycle charging towards her reminded her of that. Bat tightly secured in her hands, a grin spread out on her face, as if amused while waiting for the impact. But, the moment after, her grin turned into a tight line as she fell flat faced on the ground, some feet away from where the monstrous gang had crushed themselves into the ground and each other. Limbs were locked with one another, fists in someone else's gutter, the lion laying with all of its weight on the unicycle guy.

Nora swore her intention was to move away and trip the lion as she'd been tripping the rest of the men, but along the millisecond, a small lose wire had made her lose balance, thus making her embrace the painful surface. Her nose hurt like hell.

"She's always avoiding our attacks by teleporting!"

"Stop running away!"

The short girl crossed her arms when she stood up to face the circle of fallen men and lion.

"I'm not teleporting. You're just going too painfully slow." Was the only statement she gave before her vision blurred. It was unsettling and irritating, yes, but Nora concluded it was because of the continuous time movement she had been doing with her devil power.

"Is she an idiot?"

"What the hell is she talking about?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOTS? KILL HER ALREADY!" Yelled the main clown. The girl tsked. She would have to make a run for it.

 **…**

That was why she was running from the angry mob. The thought about Nami's whereabouts popped occasionally, though the awfully long whip the lion tamer kept targeting towards the girl's feet made her focus on just getting away.

Her focus came down to an intersection. There was no doubt that she could lose them there. When the men came to look which way the blasted girl had taken, they were only met with nothingness accompanied by silence. She had disappeared yet again.

Nora resumed normal time movement the moment she saw an all too familiar orange head. By the looks of it, she too was running away from circus freaks along with a map in her hand which the blue-eyed girl quickly took notice of. Nami came to a sudden halt when she saw the girl, smiling widely. Nora shuddered when she saw the dangerous glint in her brown orbs. The pirates looked dumbfounded.

"Nami! So you got the…."

"MISTRESS! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!" She cut her off before Nora could even mutter the word map.

What?

"What are you…"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

Sonnuva…

Was the only loud, yet oddly familiar scream she heard before the Dumbo-ears-like having girl, once more, collided with her face on the ground. Only this time, she saw darkness instead of blurriness. She would kill this rude idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** Oh wow, you guys. Thank you so so so so so so so much for such a kind welcome, support and start. I am truly delighted and so happy to know there are people who seemed intrigued by this story. I hope you feel free to express your problems and worries with the plot or OC. I am following the anime, so I think I'm okay on that note, but if its seems like it's lacking something please tell me and I will try to fix it!

 **vixbee:** Darling, thank you for your review! It made my day because you were the first! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And speaking of the point of romance, right now I'm not planning that as much as I'm trying to make Nora bond with the others as family. I have planned it though! It includes a certain famous hat or the colour green, I haven't decided yet. x

 **ApplePieJustCuzILove'Em:** Thank you so much, dear! Look forward to delivering! x

 **xauroragoddessx:** I'm so glad to hear that you've enjoyed it! Nora's a snarky little shit and I'm glad you like the idea of her being blunt! Thank you, dear! x

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own One Piece ( I am a penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs**

 **I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2: Dark Black_**

* * *

 _Previously..._

 _Nora resumed normal time movement the moment she saw an all too familiar orange head. By the looks of it, she too was running away from circus freaks along with a map in her hand which the blue-eyed girl quickly took notice of. Nami came to a sudden halt when she saw the girl, smiling widely. Nora shuddered when she saw the dangerous glint in her brown orbs. The pirates looked dumbfounded._

 _"Nami! So you got the…."_

 _"MISTRESS! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!" She cut her off before Nora could even mutter the word map._

 _What?_

 _"What are you…"_

 _"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"_

 _Sonnuva…_

 _Was the only loud, yet oddly familiar scream she heard before the Dumbo-ears-like having girl, once more, collided with her face on the ground. Only this time, she saw darkness instead of blurriness._

' _I'm going to kill this rude idiot.'_

* * *

The moment Nora started to regain her vision as the aching pain in her back started to subtle, the girl heard obnoxious whining and worrying, to the point where she thought the words might tear up in a cry. Strangely, it was a familiar voice, but Nora couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She opened her eyes slowly as to make sure she wouldn't get overwhelmed by the sudden brightness of the situation.

"NOOORAAA!" Whined the voice once more while long limbs intertwined the girl's dizzy body in what looked like a hug. It resembled more of a glomp-tight-death-grip than a comforting hug. By this time, confusion spread on her face as Nora wondered the answers to many questions.

"Rude b-bastard…." Though she doubted anyone could hear her broken whisper.

Who was this random guy who was hugging her?

Why was there a hole beneath her?

Why were his limbs so freakishly long?

Why did those guys resemble part of a freak circus?

She needed only a second before her mind became clear enough to remember and to observe. The familiar straw hat and eye scar seemed too well-known to ignore. The killing intent subdued and in its place came a warm feeling of happiness and recognition. The blue eyed girl finally hugged back her careless assaulter while a grin spread across her face.

"I'm sorry I took so long, Luffy!"

"I'm sorry for crushing you!" He yelled in return while still holding tightly.

It was Luffy who was hugging her, the straw-hat wearing boy she had promised she would meet a week ago.

The hole was made from the hard impact.

He was devil user himself, which was why his limbs were unbelievably long.

Those guys were in fact part of a freak circus.

"I'm alive. Help me up, cap." Childishly, Nora put her hands towards the boy who had let her go from his grip. Showing the infamous toothy grin of his, he obliged, steadying her on her feet as soon as he pulled her up.

"You haven't changed a bit, Nora!" He laughed while the girl playfully pinched his cheek.

"It's been only three months."

"I'm starving. Do you know where I can eat something?" The pirate captain grumbled and he put his hands over his noisy stomach.

"Dunno."

Nami, along with the other three third-wheelers seemed baffled, but the orange head foxily changed her expression and used the situation to her advantage. Putting on the teariest eyes she could manage, she clasped her hands together and turned to address the other short haired girl.

"That's so kind of you, Mistress! You brought Master along! You can save me, right?"

The words that Nami said were too damn fast for Nora's half-dozed brain to comprehend. Dumbly, she titled her head and voiced a stupid 'what'.

"I'll leave the rest to you then!" And with that she was off.

"Was that your friend, Nora?"

"That was a fox, cap."

"Whaaaat? She doesn't have a tail, idiot. That can't be a fox."

"She's hiding it."

"OI! DON'T IGNORE US!" Suddenly yelled the forgotten trio and two gigantic fist started heading towards their heads. While the first fist managed to hit Luffy and knock out his significant straw hat, Nora stepped to the side, effortlessly ignoring the blow.

As per request, Luffy returned the punch, knocking the guy a few feet away before catching and putting his precious hat on his head.

"Don't you dare touch my treasure." Was the only warning he gave before he gum no pistol-ed the remaining two into a coma. His companion didn't even have the time to take her bat; much less kick someone with it. Nevertheless, she put her thumb up, as to compliment him. A half grin was her answer.

"Wow! You're quite strong, aren't you?"

"Ah! It's the!...Who?" Quiet intelligently observed Luffy as he looked at the orange head on top of a balcony.

"I'm a thief who robs pirates! I'm a friend of Nora's! Say, why don't you guys team up with me?"

"Sur..."

"No. I don't feel like teaming up with you. Let's go, Nora." And without a second word he started walking away, the blue-eyed girl obediently following him.

"H-Hold on! Wait up!" Protested Nami as she ran towards them.

"You know, Luf. Nami can probably take us to a meal."

"REALLY? YOSH. LET'S GO." His expression did a 180 in a matter of a microsecond. He faced the orange thief with anticipation while she looked at him nervously from the sudden outburst. When Nami turned to look at the other girl, all she got from her was a small smile and a nod. With a slight headache and a sweatdrop, she agreed.

"S-sure."

 **...**

"This is pretty tasty! – The power of a sandwich was truly alluring - You live alone in this house?"

"I'm don't even live in this town. It's pretty isolated because of Buggy." The dark haired girl almost choked on her fine tea.

"From that plastic-red-nose clown moron?"

"Don't let him hear you said that." Chuckled the thief while the boy only continued eating, not bothering to ask who that was because frankly, he did not care.

"So, you're both a fox and a sneaky thief…"

"I'M NOT A FOX. How rude! I only rob pirates! There's a difference. Don't compare me with such petty, sneaky thieves."

"But a thief is a thief." Solid logic, Luffy.

"My goal is to gather 100 milion berries, no matter the cost."

"That's a lot. Are you planning to buy an island with that amount?" Wondered the other girl who sipped on her tea quietly, but the surprised and shocked eyes from the thief were noticed by her own eye, even if Nami regained calm and indifference the second after.

"It's a secret… but with the map of the Grand Line, that dream doesn't seem so far from achieving." Nora felt her eye twitch in slight annoyance.

"Yah! Why did you leave me behind, anyway?"

"You seemed to be doing just fine before. You were pretty strong after all." And she added that with a side smirk and a shrug.

"F-fox…" Dammit. The compliment had felt good.

"You mentioned a map right? Are you a navigator?" Asked Luffy and Nora just widened her eyes in astonishment when she heard the answer. She didn't even think of the possibility.

"I'm one of the much more skillful navigators!" She answered with a swing of pride.

"That's great! Why don't you be our navigator then?"

"Really?!"

"You'll be our new pirate crew member!"

"No." She refused. Then she looked at Nora with slight….was it sadness?

"You're a pirate then too, Nora?" The mentioned girl only smiled and nodded.

"This big guy is my captain. I gave him my word."

"I swore to the man who gave me this straw hat that I'd gather a great crew and become a great pirate!"

Slam. On the table.

"There's nothing more I hate in this world than pirates! The things I like are only money and tangerines!"

"Oh, come on. Be our navigator."

"I said no." And she walked towards the window, gesturing that she didn't want to talk on that matter anymore.

"Maa, I'm sure I'd be able to improve my navigational skills with Nami's help…" She dreamed while her captain subtly patted her.

"It can't be helped. She said no." Nora slightly narrowed her eyes.

"That sounds too weak to come from your mouth, Luf. - He only chuckled and continued stuffing his face with food. – How come you thought she was a navigator by the simple fact that she mentioned a map, though?"

"A navigator uses a map." Nora didn't bother any further than that. Her brain slightly hurt from that logic. Suddenly, Nami turned away from the window, ending her dramatic stance and looked at the duo in slyness which promised nothing good.

"Alright. I'll join you, but under some circumstances."

"Sure! What is it?" The captain spoke for the both of them.

"I have to take you to Buggy." Then, magically, out of God knows where, she tied them up in rope, taking a hold of Luffy's ends and choosing to let Nora go by herself. It would have been simple to reverse the situation, but the tied up girl just shrugged and listened to what Nami had planned.

Did she want to go to Buggy's again? Hell no.

Would she be able to let loose of her rope? Most probably.

"Let's go." Said her captain and quite boldly, both of them started walking ahead.

 **…**

"I captured the thief, Buggy the Clown captain. I brought along our boss as well."

"It's the teleporter..."

"It's the witch!"

"She must be pretty strong to have caught her." Were the common whispers among the crew while the clown captain narrowed his eyes at the orange girl and showed a wide shit-eating grin. He became creepily calm and satisfied at the view of the dark haired shorty tied in ropes and on the ground before him once more. He had known she was the filthy thief. The only solution that remained was to kill her slowly and painfully.

"Hmfph hmhp fhmp fmh mphf thph" Which roughly translated into: 'I hope you skin your face because it creeps me out.' The piece of clothing that was around her mouth was the only difference from her last encounter which made the clown grin even wider.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" He asked.

"I got into a fight with my boss. I just can't stand them anymore. Let me join your crew!" Curtly replied Nami as she handed him the map. Knowing how unbearable the tied girl had been, Buggy silently praised the orange head.

"I like you! I'll allow you to be in my crew! What is your name, girl?" He laughed his hiccupping laugh while he stood up.

"It's Nami."

"Alright Nami! Let's party in your honour!" Buggy yelled.

"HOORAY." And the party commenced.

 **...**

"Oi, Nora. Pass me some food! I want to eat!" Whined Luffy as he failed to sneak a piece of food for the umpteenth time despite his enormously long limbs. His position in a metal cage while tied up in ropes was not helping him at all.

"Hmph hgmp phm gmph." 'I'm still untying myself, wait a bit more.'

"This isn't fun at all."

"Pgmh hmph gmph fphm hmph." 'It's not my fault Nami has some serous rope tying skills." It was hard enough to free her wrists, let alone her ankles. The boy only whined as he strangely understood her every mumble of incoherent words. Fortunately, her mouth tying up skills were below horrible and Nora let the lousy piece of cloth fall to her neck, her mouth free to express herself.

"OI NAMI. YOUR GAG WAS PATHETIC." Was the girl's comeback after temporary silence.

KA-BOOM.

Well, there goes a quarter of the town. Hopefully these people had insurance.

Then, all eyes were on her. Nami twitched in annoyance and embarrassment combined.

"SHUT UP, YOU DERANGED ELEPHANT."

Damn. That got her good.

The clown only laughed with his booming voice of a thousand dead seagulls.

"With the power of my Devil Powers and the Buggy Canon, I will be the ruler of the Grand Line!"

"Eeeeeh? The one who will rule the Grand Line is me! - Announced Luffy with a deadpan expression. – I am the man who is going to be the Pirate King!"

"Besides, a king isn't a title worthy for someone so low." Added Nora.

"This damn bitch and her mouth….. Now I see why you can't stand them." Buggy laughed.

"That's right! One takes the world too lightly while the other one takes everything too lightly." She stuttered.

"Well, then. This will be a good opportunity for you to blow them up!-

Eh?

I can also test your loyalty for me. Prepare the cannon!" Nora gave him a bored expression which only made Buggy's blood boil even more as he gritted through his teeth.

"I'm fine as it is. It's a party so let's enjoy it some more."

"Do it. And put her first." So the cage in which Luffy was held captive was slightly tossed to the side while the cannon pointed directly towards the blue-eyed girl. Nami seemed conflicted on her decision as she held the torches.

"What's wrong? You can't fire the cannon? -Mocked Luffy who was, to emphasize, NOT the one in front of the cannon. – That's what happens when you aren't mentally prepared."

Oh, his head wasn't prepared for the beating he was about to receive from Nora if he didn't stop provoking the conflicted thief even further.

"What do you mean by mentally prepared? Is it to kill people at will? Is that the true way of the pirates?"

"No! It's being prepared to risk your own life!" The only thing Nora could do in this moment was smirk at his wise words. Honestly, this boy was filled with surprises up his sleeve. At least, Nami seemed awed by them, which was always a good sign. It was sad that the clown Joker mascot took the matches away from her and lit up the cannon himself.

"Hey, can you hurry it up a little? It's not normal too move your hand that long."

Shit. It was already lit up, despite the fact that Nami practically swooped his ass with her long stick thing.

"Woo! Go Nami!" Nora cheered.

"Oh, wow. You just saved Nora, didn't you?

"Don't presume things! I just got excited! I won't stoop so low as these pirates. I will never become like the pirates who took away the person who was the most precious to me!"

Buggy was having none of that.

"Kill this traitorous bitch!"

"Kick his ass, Fox-chan!"

"I'M NOT A FOX."

"O-oi! Nora! Get out of the way!" Yelled Luffy. The girl blinked. Then again. The lit was coming way too close to detonation. Four second was all that she needed left to untie herself.

But the moment she was free from all of her ropes, she was a second too late. Nami had burned her hands, trying and succeeding in putting out the lit and cannon from exploding.

"Y-you…" was the shocked statement of the straw hat boy.

'Reverse'

While the selfless act seemed heroic and shocking, the short girl didn't feel right knowing that her friend burned her hands for her. Blisters were a man's greatest nightmare and the cry of pain Nami let out just seemed too painful to overlook. So, she returned the seconds she needed. Before anyone could question and while Nami was dazedly kicking the clown Joker mascot with her stick yet again, just as she had done before, Nora poured a glass over the cannon lit.

The poor guy felt the pain once more as he stumbled on the ground and everyone seemed to be too stunned for words. The only sound was Luffy's laughing.

"That was so cool!" That compliment felt good as Nora's cheeks flushed in slight pride.

"W-what…"

"Happened.."

"Did she…"

"KILL HER, KILL HER, KILL HER." Ordered Buggy with a tone two octaves higher than his normal soprano.

"Nora…" Mumbled Nami in awe. The short girl's eye sight started becoming blurry and irritating once more but she gave a little thumb up towards her direction.

However just as a trio of pirates swung with their swords held up high, Nami defended their attack with that stick of hers. Unfortunately, it broke the second it collided with the sharp ends. They had the both girls surrounded.

Nora brought her bat into her hands and tried to focus beyond her blurry vision. With the help of her devil fruit powers, she entered time movement, too flashy for the simple pirates to target or take defensive form when her wooden bat cam clashing down on their faces. Three of them that had been facing her direction were out cold but while weaponless, Nami became a liability with no protection when some of the pirates started aiming their swords towards her.

The shorter girl moved to block them, but changed her aim as soon as she saw a calming, yet scary green.

Clang. All swords and weapons were blocked with only three swords, but except they were all held by one person which happened to have vividly bright, green hair.

"Hey now. How many of you are taking on one girl at once?" The random swordsman asked.

"ZORO!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You hurt?" He asked quite coolly.

"Eh?" Nami's brain was a little too shocked to understand what he had asked.

"Are you hurt?" He asked again.

"N-no. I'm fine."

"Your hair looks like it's a backyard growing on your head." Zoro twitched.

"Your ears look like they could make an elephant jealous." Nora twitched.

Then he smirked.

Then she let out a small smirk.

"Touché."

"What a relief! How did you even manage to find us? Hurry up and get me out of here!" Cheered Luffy and the swordsman looked as if he was about to snap at him.

"Can't you be serious for a while? First a bird flies off with you and now you're tied in a cage?"

"It was quite fun, actually."

"Yo, Luf. You know this guy?"

"Yep! He's our nakama." The girl grinned in excitement as she turned towards the green head.

"Nice to meet you."

"Hn."

"You suck at maintaining a conversation."

The only thing she got back in return was a side glare as he started walking towards the tied captain.

"So you are the infamous Pirate Hunter, Zoro? Are you here to take my head?" Chuckled the main clown in front of Nami.

"Not interested. I gave up on hunting."

"I am interested though. Killing you will bring fame to me."

"Don't do it. You'll die."

"Oh, is that so?"

"I guess words don't work on you." He sighed as they prepared for a battle.

Nora should have guessed that this clown wasn't just some ordinary wannabe pirate. The moment when Zoro sliced him up with his sword in half and no blood or guts came gushing through his wound, the girl knew he either was a devil fruit user or just had some crazy powers granted by his ancestors.

"He has no restraint."

"WOAH. He's really weak." The whole freak show started giggling and laughing.

"MARIMO. WATCH OUT!" But the yell was too late and as the swordsman turned to see what she had shouting about, one of Buggy's knifes slashed him in the side, marking the spot with his blood while the clown glued himself back.

"The Bara-bara no mi… is the name of the Devil Fruit I ate! I am a chop-chop person who can't be killed!"

"Chop human? So he's a monster?" Inquired yours truly.

"Marimo, you have four seconds to think!" Yelled Nora after she looked at her old hand-watch.

"What..?" Before he could even turn to ask, the girl held her hand out with her palm upwards. Eight seconds still haven't passed. She brought her fingers into a fist.

"Reverse"

And it turned back to the moment where the swordsman just cut up Buggy in pieces. While Zoro's eyes widened in surprise and shock, he used the given opportunity to avoid the knife from the clown's hand by a single inch. Even the clown himself looked in awe and astonishment. While Nora's sight got worse to the point of needing glasses, she managed to let out a snarky grin with Luffy's entertained ass laughing in the background.

"I guess I can kinda manipulate time."

"EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** Wow, guys. Guuuuuuuys. Thank youuuu. Thank youuu. I love you. I'm so happy. x

 **CrystalBalle:** I'm so glad you like her! I agree that she'll just blurt whatever! I'm excited to see how that turn out. x

 **Guest:** All I can say is that having a devil fruit that actually can control time itself does not come without a price :)

 **non of ur business sorry:** We'll see, dear. c:

 **Savage Kill:** I know this chapter does not explain anything regarding her vision failure, but I promise I have it figure out! :P

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own One Piece ( I am a penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs**

 **I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3: Green**_

* * *

 _"I'm scared she'll remain a shorty forever, Zen."_

" _I'm only five, you dump grass."_

" _What did she call me?"_

" _A dump grass."_

" _Nora, when did you ever hear that word?"_

" _Zen used it when he was mad at you for wearing his underwear. He said you were a dump grass who can't tell apart his own underwear."_

" _She probably means dumb-ass cause that's the only thing you are."_

" _OI! Freak eyes! Who are you calling a dumb-ass?"_

" _Who are you calling freak eyes?!"_

" _Fight!"_

" _SHUT UP, DUMBO."_

* * *

 _Previously…_

 _"Marimo, you have four seconds to think!" Yelled Nora after she looked at her old hand-watch._

 _"What..?" Before he could even turn to ask, the girl held her hand out with her palm upwards. Eight seconds still haven't passed. She brought her fingers into a fist._

 _"Reverse"_

 _And it turned back to the moment where the swordsman just cut up Buggy in pieces. While Zoro's eyes widened in surprise and shock, he used the given opportunity to avoid the knife from the clown's hand by a single inch. Even the clown himself looked in awe and astonishment. While Nora's sight got worse to the point of needing glasses, she managed to let out a snarky grin with Luffy's entertained ass laughing in the background._

 _"I guess I can kinda manipulate time."_

 _"EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!"_

* * *

The short girl didn't bother explaining herself, as she didn't feel like doing so. Luffy and Nami were already informed of the fact that she too, was a devil fruit user and Nora told herself she would tell Zoro later after he'd thank her. A slight frown became visible on her face when she thought of the possibility that he wouldn't even bother muttering thank you's. He was cool guy. Cool guys didn't say thank you.

"You're full of surprises, little brat. Interrupting a fight like that…." Chuckled Buggy. Didn't he already see her powers beforehand? Why were they so surprised at her statement? And wait, did he just call her a little brat?

"And you're full of shit, but you don't see me talking about it." Curtly replied Nora while the whole crew including Nami kept praying for this girl to stop her early death wish. Even Zoro seemed taken-aback while the straw hat captain just chuckled. The swordsman took a moment to understand the situation. He didn't feel pain on his side anymore, yet he remembered it clearly. However, he gripped his swords in his hands and mouth and along with a dangerous glint, he taunted his enemy.

"I'm glad you aren't as weak as you look." If his goal was to irritate the clown, he certainly succeeded in doing so as he found himself clashing his swords with the clown's knives. The fight had presumed.

But the swordsman just couldn't figure out a weak spot. While trying to find it, he made the same mistake. He sliced him in parts. It was when he heard a dark laugh that he realized he screwed up. The parts that he had sliced were now free to attack him from every angle, behind or not. The marimo-haired boy gritted his teeth as he blocked the knives the clown kept throwing. At that moment, his eyes widened at the flying hand that kept inching towards a certain girl's back, clenching a morbidly sharp knife. But before he could yell out in warning, he saw the girl disappear in a blink as soon as the knife came mere inches from striking her.

"Watch out, Nora!" Yelled a certain captain.

Nora should have been quicker about the whole situation. The second she felt it coming from behind, she should have reacted faster. She needed milliseconds, yet she indulged in one second time movement. Due to her carelessness, she felt the surface cut of her skin on her bare shoulder. Even though she was now meters away, he had managed to graze her quite painfully with his knife. It was when the bastard attacked her once more, while still fighting Zoro with other parts of his body, that Nora jumped to dodge it. One the good side, she managed to avoid the hit, but on the other hand she tripped and embraced her face with the ground for the hundredth time. The whole crew kept cheering and laughing at the fallen girl while that only seemed to increase Buggy's ego further. Reattaching his body parts, the clown left Zoro and reappeared before the fallen girl, who kept mumbling about the earth being clingy. He wanted to do nothing more than to kill her right then and there, so he brought his hand up to strike.

If the swordsman reacted quickly enough, there was no doubt he could stop the clown with his own swords.

"Attacking from behind is cowardly, big red nose!" Yelled the man inside the cage for the whole world to hear, voice as furious as it could get.

Nora swore than even she thought time suddenly stopped, no matter how hard she tried to push in her laughter. Her shoulder stung like hell. The ground wasn't helping much either.

"Who…has…a…big….red…NOSE?!" Fumed Buggy in an outburst so dramatic, the earth started shaking. He threw his knife at the boy with a central aim of his face, but the rubber boy only caught it between his teeth, smiling creepily.

"I will beat the crap out of you, Buggy." He promised. And then broke the knife with his teeth.

'I hope you make sure of that. I think my nose is broken.'

The whole started laughing though. The clown, despite his growing rage, laughed along with them, masking the boy's promise as a joke.

"Zoro, run!"

"Don't be pathetic, boy." He said and finally pushed his knife to the ground to kill the fallen girl. When he looked at the ground, surprise, surprise, he found the ground. And the girl?

She was quietly striking a match to ignite the cannon which the swordsman had wordlessly turned over with his strength. She then looked at the crew and Buggy right in front of them and a content smile spread across her lips. Her fingers brought the match to the lit and with a small spark, it ignited.

"Burn."

 **Boom!**

Her nose was broken.

 **…**

"What's you're name, marimo-chan?

"IT'S ZORO, YOU DUMB ELEPHANT."

"You're scary."

"You're annoying."

Silence.

"Oi."

"What?"

He just looked at her.

"What?" She repeated. He irked in slight irritation.

"…What's yours?"

"It's Nora. It's probably nice to meet you."

"Probably?"

"You are quite scary." He sighed.

"You have some pretty weird time powers."

"You have some pretty weird sword techniques."

"Brat…" He murmured quietly.

"Plant." She exclaimed loudly.

That earned her a light smack on the back of her head. Nora just glared at the taller man who was carrying the heavy cage of their trapped captain on his back. Nami, as Nora noted when they ran off after the cannon explosion, had foxily sneaked off somewhere again.

The green-haired man did not display any injuries, but it was evident that he was somewhat tired.

The rubber boy did not carry even a scratch while the short haired girl had both a bleeding shoulder and a damaged nose. On the bright side, it was not broken anymore, courtesy of Zoro who had oh so politely volunteered to help her fix it. Nora remembered the smug look on his face when he caused her to scream out in pain. That sadistic bastard.

But the moss head came to a sudden halt and placed the heavy cage on the ground the moment when they came in the view of an old house with a strange white creature sitting in front of its porch.

Nora felt the need to get closer to it so she could see it more clearly.

"What is it?" She asked quite dumbly.

"Looks like it's a dog, Nora." Answered her overly-cheerful captain and he tumbled his metal cage towards the dog until he was mere inches from it, while the swordsman casually sat on the porch.

"What's the matter with this mutt?" Roronoa Sherlock inspected.

"Hey look Nora. It's not moving at all." Luffy exclaimed when he failed to create a reaction from the dog by showing it funny and stupid faces.

"He's probably a guard dog. Don't provoke him, cap."

"How dangerous could he be…?" Alas, the straw hat never listened. The moment he took out his finger to poke the poor dog, it opened its large mouth and took a large bite on Luffy's face. While the sited swordsman looked surprised at the sudden attack, Nora only slightly laughed.

"I told you not to provoke it."

"STOP LAUGHING. OI STUPID DOG, STOP THAT. LET GO." It was then that Zoro finally broke.

"YOU DAMN IDIOT. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION WE'RE IN?" He yelled but Nora only laughed some more. He then turned to yell at her some more.

"AND YOU. WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING? YOUR SHOULDER HASN'T EVEN STOPPED BLEEDING."

"I just need a few stitches, it's fine. Would you relax?" Retorted Nora with a childish glare. She moved to help the struggling boy with the vicious dog. When she came close enough, she put her hands on the white dog softy and gently tugged him away from the boys face. Her fingers reached a familiar spot behind his ear and she instantly released the boy. While he did glare at the female human, he did not attack her or growl, but simply regained his same spot in front of the porch.

"Damn dog." Cursed the captain and the swordsman just sighed, indicating that he had given up trying. Feeling bold, Nora went to softly pet the dog and smiled gladly when the creature did not show the intention of hurting her or attacking her. She nearly missed the little creature's head by an inch due to her unclear vision. It would take her a few more minutes to regain normal sight.

A pair of footsteps brought the sudden attention of the trio as they turned to see a familiar orange head thief. She was wearing a calm smile which didn't resemble any of her previous sly and fake ones. Nami actually looked relieved.

"I suppose I can give you this. It's for helping me back there." She said as she tossed a key towards the ground near Luffy's cage.

"It's the key to the cage! You brought it for me!" Exclaimed Luffy.

"Don't misunderstand, I just don't like being in-debt to someone." She defended herself as both Nora and Zoro smiled in relief.

"I'm saved!" And just as Luffy outstretched his hand to grab the key, the dog's smart brain decided to eat and swallow the key.

Zoro widened his eyes.

Nami looked dumbfounded.

Luffy looked absolutely furious.

Nora tried to stifle her laugh.

"You could have hand it over like a normal person, Na-baba*. (*grandma)" That statement earned her another smack behind her head.

"I DIDN'T KNOW THE DOG WAS GOING TO EAT IT. DON'T CALL ME A BABA." Nami let out her vicious shark teeth that made even Zoro slightly shiver.

Meanwhile, Luffy started strangling the poor dog.

"Damn you! Spit it out! Spit it out, you damn dog!" And he repeated those sentences over ten times.

"Leave poor Chouchou alone, you brats!" Yelled an ancient voice that belonged to a small figure which, according to Nora, seemed thousands of miles away. Yet, he was only a few meters away. It was only when the old man approached them, that Luffy let go of the dog.

"Chouchou?"

"Who are you, old man?" Asked Zoro.

"I am this town's mayor. Who are you? - But then he briefly glanced towards Nora's open shoulder. – My, my, that's a nasty cut. You must have been fighting with those Buggy clowns. Wait a moment, I can bring you a medical kit."

 **…**

"This is very kind of you, old man." Said the dark haired girl as bowed her head in politeness towards the man's gentle assistance in patching up her shoulder. The old man just nodded his head as his reply.

Nora slowly petted the white furred dog which was sitting next to her, still guarding in front of the porch. The swordsman quietly let himself doze off into a nap near it.

"What's it doing here, sitting like that?" Asked Luffy curiously.

"Guarding the store." The mayor answered pointing out to the obvious pet store in front of them. Nora felt a shiver. How the hell had they missed the big ass "Pet Food Store" signs and obvious décor.

"So it must mean a lot to him then…" Murmured Nora as she continued petting Chouchou's head gently.

"That's right. The owner was a good friend of mine. – and he brought a bowl of food snacks before the dog, which contently started munching away his food. – I've been feeding him in his place."

"In his place?" Inquired Nami.

"He passed away three months ago because of an illness." The mayor then sat on the porch.

"So, he's waiting for him to return?"

"That's what the town folk keep saying but, I think that Chouchou's smart enough to have figured out that his master is dead."

"Then, why is he guarding the shop?"

"It's because it's his treasure, right?" Suddenly interrupted Nora, looking sadly at the dog. The old man nodded his head.

"It's the only thing his master left him, so of course he would protect it. I've tried to move him, but he's been stubborn every single time."

"So, it's your treasure…" Said Nora with a small, understanding smile and unconsciously touched her old hand watch. She knew what it meant and she knew that the caged boy understood it perfectly as well.

However, there was sudden uproar which surprised all of them.

"Who's that?" Asked Nora.

"It's him! The beast tamer, Mohji!" Shrieked the mayor as he went away cowardly, Nami shrieking and while asking him questions, followed him shortly after. Luffy sighed.

"Something's coming." He said rather stupidly when the large, growling tiger and man on top of him were right in front of them. Mohjis smiled as he'd just won a prize when he saw the caged Luffy.

"You've been abandoned by your nakama and yet you just got away?" He mocked.

"Genius, I'm here, Nami's a little to the side and that marimo haired guy is on the side of the porch napping. Do you need glasses or something?"

His eyes finally landed on the familiar girl who had left him soaked in colour paint before and had ridden his own beast. His eyes twitched and anger boiled up in him, sensing the urge to kill her immediately.

"It seems you have a death wish, brat."

"She does…" Whispered Nami while the short girl threw an angry "Traitor" towards her remark. Suddenly, Mohji came down his angry lion and started walking towards the dog.

"I am the beast tamer Mohji! There is no beast that I haven't tamed. Shake!" He barked the order and while Chouchou looked bored, he found the motivation to bite the pathetic man's arm. Alarmed and shocked, the man flailed and screamed, trying to pry off the dog off of his arm. Nora allowed herself to laugh.

"Good job, Chouchou!" But then, Mohji turned to face Luffy, his face covering the embarrassment he had just put on his title.

"Tell me where Roronoa Zoro is."

"No."

"RICHIE! KILL HIM!" The lion obediently growled and lunged towards the straw hat, breaking him out of his cage and freeing him at the same time. Just as the snarky captain was about to proclaim his freedom, the large lion knocked him with his paw, sending crashing to the opposite building.

"OI! SHEEP-FACED MORON. DO YOU ALSO NEED EAR SURGERY? ZORO'S RIGHT THERE." Yelled Nora as she pin pointed towards the peacefully asleep man on the far side, unaffected by his surrounding and the things happening around him.

Mohji blinked.

And again before his eye twitched at his stupidity and the nerve of the girl in front of him.

"RICHIE, KILL HER." And the lion lunged forward at the surprised girl. She failed. The sharp clawed paw of the giant lion came in tact with her face and send her crashing to the side. The man on top of the lion just smiled at his easy victory.

"Pathetic." He said and he turned to face the dog.

"It's protecting the shop, huh? Richie, I hope you're hungry." As on cue, the lion growled.

Yet the little white dog remained fearless. His little black eyes showed determination far greater than even a human's. And so, he fought.

The lion lunged forward, but so did he.

The lion attacked, he defended.

The lion bit, so did he.

Blood and wounds became visible on his small body. But, that motivated him to show his canines, to bark louder and to bite harder. It motivated him further to protect the thing he had been guarding! It wasn't just an ordinary pet food shop! It was his master's farewell request! It was his treasure, for pete's sake!

The lion dashed forward again, prepared for the last blow. But the lion didn't collide with the dog this time. He collided with something much more solid and hurtful.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Said a calm, yet eerily angry voice in front of the lion. Mohji looked shocked to see the girl up and about, only a few claw scratches adoring her face. The lion's furious eyes collided with a wooden bat which was tightly secured around the short girl's hands. She pushed her bat forward and threw the lion away a couple of meters away, unbalancing him on his feet just slightly. The girl narrowed her eyes to look at the blooded dog and showed him a small smile.

"Let me help a bit." She said and when Chouchou gave her a broken woof, she looked at the beast tamer once again, eyes cold and furious as they could get.

"I dare you to do it again, kitty." Before Mohji could voice out a command, the lion raged forward towards the girl, eyes red and teeth showing.

'And just when my sight started clearing…' Nora clenched her bat in one hand and pushed her other one forward, preparing herself for the furious beast. She briefly looked at her watch which always showed her the correct seconds. Her eyes closed to focus. Three seconds.

"NORA!" Yelled both famine and boyish voices.

"Wha..?" Came the sleepy mutter of a certain swordsman.

"Woof." Came a bark.

A roar. Ticking. Treasure. And then her hand brushed against some warm fur gently.

"Time Check: Body Removal" She voiced out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Sorry for the later than usual update! My only excuse is the start of school along with some problematic weather situations in my country. ( storms and earthquakes and floods and whatnot ) Anyways, thank you for all of your amazing support, you have no idea how much I love and appreciate it!

 **Savage Kill:** I'm gonna start making a table of whenever people say Zoro or Luffy would be a good par with her! Anyways, thank you for reading it, dear. Her vision does get worse, but it does not affect her permanently, fortunately. c:

 **xenocanaan:** Thank you, dear.

 **Guest:** I wonder too. ;) Although the repercussions are more severe when she's in battle than when not. We'll have to see. Thank you!

 **pizzafan123:** I'm glad you seem to be enjoying Nora, her bluntness and interaction with everyone! Thank you so much, sweetie.

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own One Piece ( I am a penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs**

 **I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Black**

* * *

" _Is she going to be okay, Zen?"_

" _Her chances of surviving this are next to zero."_

" _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"_

 _"She's most probably going to die."_

" _ZEN, SHE'S ONLY FIVE. SHE CAN'T DIE THAT YOUNG."_

" _You idi…"_

" _SHE HAS SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR. "_

 _"She's not…"_

" _SHE CAN'T JUST ABANDON HER DREAM OF FINDING THE MAGIC CANDY-GIVING ELEPHANT THAT ADORES CHILDREN WITH BIG EARS."_

" _Would you liste…."_

" _WE'RE GONNA FAIL HER AS BROTHERS. OUR LITTLE SISTER CAN'T DIE THAT PATHETICALLY."_

" _She's got flu."_

" _WHAT IF OUR AUNT FINDS OUT SHE DIES? SHE'LL TORTURE, THEN KILL US. NORA'S HASN'T EVEN GROWN MORE THAN 35 INCHES."_

" _Idiot."_

* * *

 _Previously…_

 _"I dare you to do it again, kitty." Before Mohji could voice out a command, the lion raged forward towards the girl, eyes red and teeth showing._

 _'And just when my sight started clearing…' Nora clenched her bat in one hand and pushed her other one forward, preparing herself for the furious beast. She briefly looked at her watch which always showed her the correct seconds. Her eyes closed to focus. Three seconds._

 _"NORA!" Yelled both famine and boyish voices._

 _"Wha..?" Came the sleepy mutter of a certain swordsman._

 _"Woof." Came a bark._

 _A roar. Ticking. Treasure. And then her hand brushed against some warm fur gently._

 _"Time Check: Body Removal" She voiced out._

* * *

The first time Nora slightly woke up from the blackness she dove into, she felt warm hands lay her against a much rougher and stone surface rather uncharacteristically gently. When she tried to open her eyes, she was met with her old friend, blurriness. Yet, when the familiar grin came into view, all doubt and questions disappeared. There was no second-guessing to whom this radiant smile belonged to. The short girl felt immensely tired, but she could not determine any spot on her body injured or hurt. Her eyelids threatened to lure her into a calm rest once more, despite her stubborn struggles to prevent that.

'I guess I overused it a little bit.'

"You did good. You can rest a bit." And that voice showed nothing but sincere respect and admiration. The short girl imagined she had smiled at that. But, with soft pats on her head and soft fur brushing her side, Nora silently let herself be lured away.

The second time Nora woke up, she confidently assured herself that she had regenerated her strength and energy enough to stand up and clear her vision. Speaking of vision, it was finally starting to get clear thanks to her little nap. A few dots of blurriness were here and there, but it was much better than before. The still dizzy girl stood up gently and put her hand on the stone wall next to her to support her weight until she felt fully functional.

"Woof!" Came a familiar bark way too enthusiastically loud next to the short girl. Yet when Nora turned to look at the furry creature, she found herself smiling at the sight of Chouchou, bruised, but loud and lively.

"Hey. You were quite brave back there." She murmured while she bent down to scratch his ear. To her surprise, he licked her hand.

"You've surely gotten friendlier..." She commented at his small display of affection. But then, something occurred to her and her eyes looked around until they focused on a familiar pet food shop building.

The building stood tall and undamaged. Just like it always been.

"I'm glad…"

"Woof."

"Where are the others, though?"

"Woof."

"So they left me behind."

"Woof."

"And they probably went to kick Buggy's ass and steal all the fun."

"Woof."

"Bastards."

Nora just then noticed the gigantic lion along with his partner in crime Mohji, motionless on the ground, completely dead to the world. She pointed at the beast duo and looked towards the dog in slight confusion.

"I didn't kill them, did I?"

"Woof."

"Dammit."

 **…**

Nora should have guessed that all the cursing, explosion and loudness were because of her captain, new crew mate and fox. It shouldn't have been also surprising when she saw the old mayor on the ground unconscious with a vivid bump on the side of his head. The girl knew better than to be surprised when it came to the straw hat wearing boy. Still, she crouched down to the old man and shook him slightly to gain some kind of reaction out of him.

"Maa, old man. Are you still alive?"

"Ugh." And then he slumped back to the ground. The girl sighed. There was really no need for him to be hit that hard.

"Oi." What a stupidly monotonic and boring voice, the blue-eyed girl thought. But just then, a little ahead of her, her vision focused on the familiar green-head leaned on a wall with his arms confidently crossed in front of him. And while Nora approached him, she quickly came to notice two things.

First, the unicycle man was out cold on the ground with blood rushing out of his nose and mouth.

Second, Luffy was toying with a pair of very colorful feet.

"Yo. I guessed I missed out on quite a bit." She waved.

"A bit." He retorted.

"What's Luffy doing?"

"Obviously playing with the clown's feet." Nora fought the urge to voice out her sarcastic comeback.

"Obviously." She didn't win against the urge. The swordsman only glared at her.

"What was that, anyways?" He asked suddenly.

"What was what?" She turned to look at him.

"That move back there, with the lion..."

"Oh. That was time check. An ability to manipulate one's sense of three-dimensional time. I guess you could say I made him confuse and dropped him into a coma. But it drains a lot of my energy and damages my sight sense."

"That doesn't really explain anything." He murmured.

"Later."

Alas, it was when the clown himself yelled something along the lines of "Reattach" that Nora finally took notice of the orange fox. She was tying some parts of Buggy's torso. What was she up to now…..? Speaking of Buggy, he should have reattached himself fully right about now but what was...

What the fuck was that?

"OH WOW, OH GOD, I DIDN'T EVEN THINK YOU COULD GET CREEPIER. I WAS WRONG." Nora was thankful that her sight had cleared to its fullest, otherwise she wouldn't have been blessed to see this masterpiece. The girl roared with laughter as both her captain and the clown in question finally took notice of her, their reactions towards seeing her completely different from each other.

Luffy happily waved whilst yelling out her name in recognition.

Buggy twitched his eyes in annoyance as he screamed he would kill her slowly one day.

Buggy, in a lack of words, was reattached, alright. The only problem was his missing chest, neck and shoulders. So, that's what Nami was up to. Yet Nora couldn't find herself stopping with her laughter. The green-haired man beside her only loudly sighed.

"Nora!" Finally exclaimed the orange-haired thief as she took notice of her and the shorter girl only waved back whilst grinning.

"Hey, Na-baba!"

If looks could kill, Nora would be tossing in her grave right now.

Everything went almost smoothly after that, if you didn't count the terribly long chase between the straw-hats and more than furious villagers. Turns out, seeing their mayor half covered in dirt and unconscious hadn't really left good first impressions of the pirate crew. And so, after knocking Buggy to God knows where, Luffy had quickly pushed both Nami and Nora into a sprint, while the said fox had kindly tossed her two heavy bags of coins on to Zoro. Naturally.

It was when the straw hat captain decided to randomly turn left, that Chouchou appeared miraculously and fended off the angry villagers, blocking their way and giving the pirates the chance they needed to run towards the docks and quickly mark their departure.

It was another shock just then, when the mayor himself started yelling something about gratitude and his thankfulness. They were kind and tearful words, so the small crew took them with their hearts. Except maybe Zoro. He didn't quite seem to care.

And strange as it was, they took off in two vessels. One small dinghy courtesy of Luffy, and another, bigger, stolen Buggy ship, 'borrowed' by your one and only.

It was one empty bag of coins and Nami choking Luffy in the water later, that something dawned upon Nora. Unlike her usual childish and slight immature way of thinking, this thought provoked her heart to clench in excitement, relief and strangely, anxiousness.

It was one, small step closer towards their dreams and the Grand Line.

' _It's one, tiny step towards finding_ _ **them**_ _'_ Was the thought.

 **…**

"So, you're a helmsman, Nora?" Inquired Nami curiously as she eyed the dark-haired girl who was just finishing in tightening the Buggy-flagged sail.

"Yup, I was taught by one of the best." The girl reminisced as she uttered those words. Her fingers touched her old hand-watch and she smiled fondly at the memories.

"That means you possess some kind of navigational skills." Nami said with a dwell of amusement.

"I do. But that doesn't mean I'm any good at it. I understand the language of the sea and the ship, but I couldn't understand direction or weather even if my life depended on it."

Nami practically face-palmed.

"Yet, you say you are a helmsman." Nora only laughed.

"Well, now that we have a real navigator, you'll teach me in order to become better."

"Don't say it like you've already decided that! I haven't even said yes!"

"I'll wait until you say yes, then."

"Ugh, Nora!"

"It's not like I'm forcing you into it. You ARE on our crew already."

"It's a temporary alliance!"

"Do you know what I smell?"

"…what?"

"Bullshit."

Bump. There goes Nora's precious head.

"YA! FOX-BABA. WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"STOP CALLING ME A BABA, DUMBO BRAT!"

"WOULD YOU PREFER ME CALLING YOU A FOX? CAUSE I DIDN'T HEAR YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT THAT."

"NO."

Bump. There goes poor Nora's head yet again.

Sonnuva…

"LUFFY. OUR NAVIGATOR IS ABUSING ME."

"Shishishi." The captain only laughed while the swordsman joined him in his laughter at the girls' comedic banter.

'Traitors.'

 **…**

"It'd be reckless to go straight towards the Grand Line like this unprepared."

"Says you." Grumbled Nora as she rather childishly crossed her arms in everlasting annoyance as she was sat cross-legged next to the green-haired swordsman. Her head hurt. She had the right to act pouty. Nami chose to ignore her, feeling the tiniest of regret for punching her so hard tingle through her bones.

"That's right. We have to get some meat. It's not good to be eating only apples." Said the oh-so wise captain of this small crew.

"Some booze would be great as well." Nami simply threw an apple at him.

"What are you guys thinking? The Grand Line is the most dangerous place in the world where lots of powerful pirates come looking for the One Piece with their powerful ships!"

"We'll just make them our friends!"

"Not only do we lack manpower, but our ship is nowhere near suitable for the Grand Line."

"You're talking on deaf ears, Nami." Answered the other girl of the group as a sigh left her throat.

"Looks like we still need a chief. A musician also." The simple-minded one said as if on cue.

"A musician?" Zoro laughed while Nami finally realized the meaning of Nora's words. The navigator's shoulders slumped forward in defeat.

"If we continue heading south, we should be able to reach a small inhabitant island." Nonetheless, the navigator read her map with some sort of newfound hope and wish that this crew wasn't as absent-minded as it seemed.

"An island? We're going to get to eat meat!" Exclaimed Luffy.

"Don't forget the sake." Said Zoro.

"I hope they have good tea." Added Nora.

Nami's newfound hope came crushing down when she reminded herself that this crew was indeed as absent-minded as it seemed. She sighed.

'These guys are idiots.'

 **…**

"Although it's a small village…" Muttered Nami as she looked at her map, slightly confused, slightly intrigued as they docked near the shores of the island.

"Meat, meat, meat! A village is a village! We could ask them for meat!"

"Could you not think about meat for one second?" Did this girl even dare to ask that question?

"You're hilarious, Nami." Chuckled Nora while the orange-haired simply titled her head in puzzled irritation.

"What are you…?"

She was most rudely interrupted by loud rustling among the hill bushes above them. Zoro turned to stretch his arms and yawn like the bear he was, when the loud rustling became evident that something else had created it, and not just the simple wind. The instinctive swordsman narrowed his eyes just the slightest. His hand grasped the hilt of his trust-worthy sword, inching to use it at any sudden threat.

"Be careful. Someone's here."

"Of course there is, there's a boy in the bushes over there." Said the shortest.

"Where? Where? Where, where?"

"Watch out!" As if to answer Luffy's obvious question of 'where' tiny darts flew right to his feet, which he comically tried to avoid by jumping.

At that moment, black pirate flags rose from the bushes, which caused their own pirate captain to baffle in amusement.

"HOW AWESOME!"

"It's lame."

"Bahahaha! I am the leader of this great pirate crew that conquered this village, Usopp! Everyone praises and addresses me as the great Captain Usopp. If you're planning on attacking this village, you should save your energy. Otherwise, my 90 million men will crush you like bugs!

"AMAZING." Awed the only dull-headed boy.

Eh?

The man who had addressed himself as "Captain Usopp" was a tall, lanky,skinny tanned boy who had undeniably fabulous Afro hair and a freakishly long nose.

Why was it that every person Nora met had some kind of bizarre nose problem or crazy bone structure? Nora brought a hand to her chin as she thought of the person this boy reminded her of.

Bing!

Of course! How could have she missed it! The wavy hair, big and childish eyes which misplaced fright with false strength, long nose and cloth attire. It was coming to her. There was no doubt about who this boy was related to! She pinpointed her finger towards him.

…

"OI! You look like Pinocchio's long lost twin!"

Nora grinned.

Luffy roared with laughter.

Nami managed to giggle.

Zoro tried to suppress his laughter and nearly failed.

The poor verbally assaulted boy nearly fainted from shock and embarrassment.

What a rude idiot she was…


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** **Guys, guys, guys. I have nothing to say except how sorry I am. I don't want to abandon this story. Hopefully, you'll find it somehow to accept my apology.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own One Piece ( I am an penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs**

 **I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x**

 **S** **ide note:** _I changed the titles because I know I'm not going to have enough colors to fill out every_ _chapter. Though I might be wrong, I feel safer this way._

* * *

 **Chapter 5: In which there is a mansion**

* * *

 _Previously…._

 _The man who had addressed himself as "Captain Usopp" was a tall, lanky,skinny tanned boy who had undeniably fabulous Afro hair and a freakishly long nose._

 _Why was it that every person Nora met had some kind of bizarre nose problem or crazy bone structure? Nora brought a hand to her chin as she thought of the person this boy reminded her of._

 _Bing!_

 _Of course! How could have she missed it! The wavy hair, big and childish eyes which misplaced fright with false strength, long nose and cloth attire. It was coming to her. There was no doubt about who this boy was related to! She pinpointed her finger towards him._

…

 _"OI! You look like Pinocchio's long lost twin!"_

 _Nora grinned._

 _Luffy roared with laughter._

 _Nami managed to giggle._

 _Zoro tried to suppress his laughter and nearly failed._

 _The poor verbally assaulted boy nearly fainted from shock and embarrassment._

 _What a rude idiot she was…_

* * *

"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF. Y-YOU LOOK LIKE DUMBO'S DEGENERATIVE COUSIN."

"I'll have you know that my mental, emotional and physical health are perfectly stable and normal, you blind, insolent cockroach-"

Nami all of a sudden, started coughing obnoxiously loud as to try and prove a point, but the shorter girl only shot her a narrowed glance and wordlessly continued, "Besides, my ears aren't THAT big, right guys?" inquired the girl as she turned to look at her crew members, her eyes filled with an almost blinding spark of hope. Her heart strongly told her that they would not disappoint her on this point.

"They're enormous," curtly replied the moss-haired swordsman, hinting nothing but honesty along his shit-eating smirk.

"Shishishishi, they are quite weirdly big," also add the grinning captain.

"Sorry to break it you, Nora," sugarcoated Nami with a small smile of her own.

The poor, crushed and weakened big-eared girl fell to her knees and all of her hope abandoned her in a blink of an eye. A depressing aura surrounded her, filling the vicinity of her body with nothing but dark and dull colors. It seemed as if life itself had left her.

"I hope you guys go bald," the miserable girl whispered gloomily.

"Everyone calls me the great captain Usopp, so if you're planning on attacking this village, I'll have my 80 million men crush you like bugs!" yelled Pinocchio and successfully regained the attention of the four pirates.

"You already said that once…"

"That's awesome!" Boy, this one sure had less brain cells than average.

"That's a lie," calmly stated the orange haired thief.

Pinocchio's twin put his hands on his head and drove into a state of panic, now that his master scheme had been discovered.

"You saw through it, this is unbelievable!"

"What!? You mean he was lying the whole time?" inquired the favorite captain as if he was told the answer for the meaning of life.

"Cap, his nose grew bigger by 2 inches, didn't you notice that?" Nora pointed out.

"THAT'S AMAZING! DO IT AGAIN."

"My nose is normal, damn you! Maybe 80 million men was an exaggeration, but I still have many strong and powerful crew members!"

As on cue, 6 pirate flags rose from the bushes and waved powerfully along the nonexistent wind.

"Yet, your nose still grows bigger," said Nora and Usopp subconsciously covered his nose with his hands and voiced a nervous laugh, "Idiot! My nose does not grow bigger! W-what do you mean?"

"You covered it up though which means that you are, in fact, his long lost-"

"What Nora means, is that we know you have only 3 of those 'powerful' crew mates you mentioned," exclaimed Nami while pinpointing out the three startled children in the bushes, who in fact were waving the black flags. The black-haired girl bit her inner cheek in annoyance.

"You," she muttered, "are rude." As a cool response deprived from verbal conflict, Nami generously pinched her arm.

Then, the same orange head picked a small metallic ball from the ground and inspected it with a slight smile, "I would have never guessed that pirates used pinballs."

The pirate captain boomed with laughter, "You sure are an amusing fellow."

All of a sudden, the long nosed liar fired up with newfound courage and perhaps a small dose of imprudence.

"You idiot! Don't laugh at me! I am a man of great pride, thus everyone calls me Usopp, the Proud!" he yelled as he prepared his pinball on what seemed to be a slingshot, "As you saw earlier, my skill with the slingshot is much greater than the skill of a pistol!"

"Since you mentioned pistols...bet your life on it and use it," stated Luffy as he gave a small, taunting smirk that kept challenging the slingshot expert, "A weapon shouldn't just be a tool for threatening people."

The swordsman of the group let out a small chuckle and let his fingers grasp the hilt of his katana, just enough to show its threatening and eerie light reflection.

"The man who stands before you is a real pirate," he said.

Nora then, at that moment, felt really bad for the poor Pinocchio. Sure, he had called her a degenerate, but the cold and deadly looks both her captain and swordsman were currently giving him made her silently pray for the mental health of the boy. Even the bulkiest and bravest man alive would have been intimidated by their soul-piercing and cold-blooded stare.

And as according to script, the brave Usopp fell to his knees and let out the air he didn't know he had been holding.

"As expected, real pirates are much more intimidating…"

But then, the threatening duo burst out laughing with one look at each other.

The cheeky captain was the first to explain himself, "I was just repeating something a pirate I deeply respect told once. His name was Shanks."

"Did you say Shanks? The Red Haired Shanks, do you know him?" yelled Usopp with eyes as wide as if Christmas had come early.

"Yup. Yasopp's the name of your dad, right?"

Poor boy couldn't contain his excitement and he fell down the hill he had been on.

"It's true that my father's name is Yasopp, but how do you know that?" he asked.

Just before Luffy opened his mouth to answer him, a loud groan of inhumanity interrupted them all. All eyes turned to the short girl that was to the side. Unfazed of the animal-like groan, Nora only narrowed her eyes in thought. Glancing at her old wrist watch, she nod her head.

"Gentlemen, Luffy, Na-baba, let's resume this talk over lunch."

There were no voiced objections, only a painful smack on the back of the head, courtesy of the sweet and thoughtful navigator.

 **…**

Tea is the loveliest and tragically, the most underappreciated gift from nature. It's not just the way you prepare it, nor taste it, nor desire it. The magic lies within the aroma, the indulging serenity that comes with it and the sheer enjoyment in the time passed drinking it. Nora thought, as she sipped on her black tea, how wonderful would it be to find a potential crew member who would share the same passion. Nami preferred coffee, from what Nora had gathered. Zoro, judging by the way he happily and contently chugged down his booze, didn't seem like he was a tea person and Luffy either drank it too quickly or disliked the type entirely.

Because of the contentment that tea had brought to her after finishing her meal, Nora failed to pay attention to the conversation going on around her. She finally ended her daze when the long nosed boy abruptly stood up, gave a lame excuse and quickly left the little diner.

"Why did Usopp leave?" she asked the remaining trio who all knew as much as her.

"Did you even bother to listen to the conversation?" asked Zoro and Nora swore she heard a tilt of amusement along the lines.

"Of course I didn't. I was enjoying my tea." came the blunt reply.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"The art of enjoying your tea is a skill that requires patience and hard-work. I'd be happy to teach you."

"I think I'll stick with alcohol…," and with that, he didn't ask further, realizing that he'd get no precise answer or hint out of the Dumbo-like girl.

"I'll send a get-well-soon postcard for your liver then."

"Brat."

"Plant."

Smack.

"Luffy! Even our swordsman is abusing me!"

Nami and Luffy only laughed.

All of a sudden, there was a gush of high-pitched voices.

"THE USOPP PIRATE CREW HAS ARRIVED!"

But nobody paid attention to the small trio of kids that had barged in, so they approached nearer, "What have you pirates done with captain Usopp?"

"Maan, that meat was delicious," exclaimed Luffy as he pat his bloated, yet very satisfied stomach. The terrified kids took one step back in realization.

"W-what have you done with our captain?"

Then, they made the fatal mistake of looking Zoro in the eyes, seeing as he wore the most sinister and crooked smile of the century.

"You're captain was eaten." The kids all but nearly fainted at his words.

"Sadistic bastard," whispered Nora.

The kids then looked at the orange navigator.

"The witch!" they yelled.

"Why are you brats looking at me?!" she screeched with her shark-like teeth. The kids finally fell down to the ground, lifeless and scared.

"I'm praying these kids don't develop some kind of trauma since they got exposed to the wrath of the witch at such a young age…"

"DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THEM?"

 **…**

"If you can't find captain Usopp, he's usually here," pointed one of the kids.

In front of them stood a majestic and large mansion which screamed: "Wealth"

"What's he doing here?" asked the captain.

"He comes here to lie," answered one of the kids.

"But he shouldn't be doing that!" voiced out the defender of human morals.

The second one of the kids tried to explain, "But it's a different kind of lying, so it should be okay!"

"Work with us here guys; give us the whole picture, not just snips of it," stated the black haired girl.

"Well, Lady Kaya lives in this mansion and she's very weak. A year ago, her parents passed away because of an illness and she has been depressed ever since. That's why our captain has been making up outrageous lies in order to cheer her up! Captain's lying ability is first class after all!"

"What? He's a good guy after all."

The trio of kids nodded, "He is!"

"I like the way he meddles in other people's businesses!"

"I like the way he overreacts to everything!"

"I like the way he lies!"

"I think something's terribly wrong with these kids..," mumbled Nora to no one in particular. Nami tried to stifle a chuckle.

"Is the lady happier now?" asked the navigator.

"She is!"

Luffy came to an important conclusion that moment, "Alright! Let's go in and ask her for a ship!"

"Entering is very difficult, there are large and scary bodyguards at the entrance, so it will be hard to enter from there…," reasoned one of the kids, yet it all fell on deaf ears.

The rubber man had already grabbed the fence with his arms and was preparing to catapult himself over it at any moment. The kids, of course, freaked out when they saw him stretching his limbs all the way.

"Gomu, gomu no…," he started.

The short girl felt her eye twitch in utter annoyance, "I swear to God, if you catapult me into the stone wall, I'm going to shove my bat up-"

There was no time to think or finish that sentence as Nami grabbed a hold of Nora's upper arm and pushed her to grab a hold of the rubber boy. The others instinctively did the same thing.

"SORRY FOR THE INTRUSION," he finished.

Nora expected a hard, solid surface to collide with her face and potentially break her nose, again. However, expectation met reality and they had a bloody fight. The surface on which she collided was soft, breathing and squishy. It wore a certain straw hat and…

Dammit.

"That was a successful landing, " Luffy tried to voice out beneath the short girl.

Nami, who was a little far to the side retorted, "Like hell it was."

"At least you're lucky enough to get to keep your family treasure, cap," laughed Nora in relief as she slowly got up from the rubber boy.

"Sorry," said the captain halfheartedly while grinning.

"Are you all right?" came a soft voice above them.

"They're fine, they're fine. T-they must have heard that I was here, so they came to join my pirate crew," came a much more trembling voice.

"That's not it. We came to ask you a favor." Luffy bluntly said as he dusted off the remaining dirt on him.

"From me?" asked the white haired girl on the window.

"Yep! We want a large ship-"

"You there! What are you doing there?"

Dressed in black, a tall, bland guy walked towards the group slowly. He kept, what seemed to be, readjusting his glasses with the palm of his hand.

"E-excuse me, Klahadore, these people here…," Kaya tried to explain.

"There is no need for you to tell me. I will listen to your explanation later. For now, I would like you all to leave at once, or do you have something to say?"

"Well, we want a ship you see…"

"Definitely not!" was his final statement on that matter, "Usopp! I've heard a lot about you! You've been faced with a lot of things since a young age."

The cowering boy came to full view, once he realized his camouflage plan had failed. He stood up proudly at Kuro's words, "Is that so? You may refer to me as captain Usopp! That will help spread my name!"

"I've heard a lot of things about your father as well," smirked the tall man. It was at this point that his presence screamed out the words "evil" in and out.

Nora just continued staring at his shoes at this point, which were the most retarded choice of footwear anyone could have chosen to wear.

"Klahadore, cease this at once," yelled out Kaya.

"You are just the son of a low-class pirate! Although anything you do will not be of a surprise, please stop pestering the young mistress!"

"What..? You called my father a low-class?" mumbled Usopp in disbelief as all fell silent.

"You and the young mistress are of different backgrounds. Do you need money? How much-"

"Enough, Klahadore! Apologize to Usopp," screamed Kaya.

"Why should I apologize to such a barbaric man, young mistress? I am only speaking the truth. In a way, I even sympathize with you and the hatred you must carry for that scum of a father who abandoned you and your mother to look for the treasures as a pirate!"

.

.

.

"Somebody please punch this guy in the face," mumbled Nora.

* * *

xxx

 **xenocanaan:** Thank you for reading, sweetie. x

 **Savage Kill:** Actually, that **was** the first I thought when I saw Usopp! Hahaha, I don't know, we'll see about her past, but your guesses are spot on ;)

 **ClearWolf:** I will try to pay more attention to the grammar mistakes and to proof read it beforehand. Thank you so much for reading dear. All I can say for your theory is that we'll see. Nothing is certain. Also, thank you so much for pointing out the dialogue writing form and I honestly didn't know the rules about it. I think it's better now, but that just depends on practice. x x x

 **Sakura Hatsu:** I'm glad that she is! Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:** Guys, thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback! Most probably I'm going to do one chapter per week or a week and a few days! Please enjoy what I have to offer~

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own One Piece ( I am a penguin with imagination the size of a peanut and have no talent whatsoever to create something as golden as One Piece.) I do own my OCs**

 **I hope you feel free to fave, review, comment or follow. It's deeply appreciated. x**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6: In which there briefly is a hypnotist_**

* * *

 ** _11 years ago..._**

 _Silence was never her friend. Silence was a beautiful creature stacked with an endless resource of lullabies performed by soft-toned harps which always pulled you to a deep state of self-observation, thinking and even sometimes, dreaming. However luring those songs were, the girl couldn't accept silence as her friend. And as beautiful the night was that day, and as delicately the starts shone on the sky ceiling, the awake little girl was too scared to hold silence's hand and allow her to pull her into the realm of carefree dreams and imaginary thoughts. She couldn't do it. Dreams were not carefree. They were frightening and they almost always turned into nightmares and broken slips of memories her conciseness displayed. They were neither imaginary nor filled with happiness. They were dark and scary, with a sense of nothingness as a primary feeling._

 _So with the fear of allowing silence to hug her into nightmares of burnt memories, the little girl turned her face to look at the young boy sleeping next to her. She was happy enough to hear the slight brush of leaves as she moved her head. At least that created some kind of noise._

 _"Zen, are you asleep?" she asked quietly. No motion nor reaction came in return._

 _"Zen. Are you sleeping?" the boy, finally, turned his face into a slight grimace upon realizing he had been woken up from his slumber._

 _"Go to sleep, Nora," he muttered and turned away so that his back was met with the little girl's face. Her tiny fingers reached out to grasp the boy's shirt and she gently tugged it._

 _"I can't sleep," she told him._

 _"Close your eyes, think of the candy island you like so much and go to sleep," came his muffled and sleepy voice._

 _"But if I close my eyes, I'm scared that he's going to come and hurt me again," the girl said as she pushed her head onto the boy's back and curled herself to that position, "Jax always sings the teddy bear song to make him go away…"_

 _The sleeping boy fluttered his eyes open when he heard her quiet confession. He turned around wordlessly and securely wrapped his hand around her own._

 _"Close your eyes," he said._

 _"But-"_

 _"Close your eyes. Jax is away for now, but you also have this big brother to kick the guy's butt if he comes near you," he curtly explained, "So, close your eyes." Nora could only nod her head and do as she was told, tightly grasping the boy's hand in the meantime._

 _There was silence again at first, until the boy calmly sighed as he used his other free hand to pat the little girl's head softly. Then, with a gentler voice he started to sing to a childish and lullaby-like tune,_

 _"He sits upon his pillowed throne,_

 _A joyous smile upon his face._

 _And though his ears may seem out grown,_

 _He carries them with pride and grace._

 _He's never cross or quick to cry,_

 _A friend in need is he to me._

 _When human tongues are mean and sharp,_

 _My teddy gives me sympathy._

 _To him I always bare my soul,_

 _He lifts me up when I'm feeling low._

 _And when I brag and miss my goal,_

 _He never says: "I told you so."_

 _He forgives my every childish crime,_

 _When the night hums, hums, hums._

 _And he even stays awake all the time,_

 _So that I'm not scared when the Boogeyman comes._

 _My friends may titter gleefully,_

 _And some may tease, but I don't care._

 _I hope that I may never be,_

 _Too old to love my teddy bear," as he finished with a long yawn he reopened his eyes one last time too look at the little girl curled against him. When he saw how peaceful she had dove off into the dream world and no nightmares had appeared to threaten her serenity for now, his lips curled up into a very small smile._

 _"Goodnight, Nora."_

* * *

Previously…

 _"You are just the son of a low-class pirate! Although anything you do will not be of a surprise, please stop pestering the young mistress!"_

 _"What..? You called my father a low-class?" mumbled Usopp in disbelief as all fell silent._

 _"You and the young mistress are of different backgrounds. Do you need money? How much-"_

 _"Enough, Klahadore! Apologize to Usopp," screamed Kaya._

 _"Why should I apologize to such a barbaric man, young mistress? I am only speaking the truth. In a way, I even sympathize with you and the hatred you must carry for that scum of a father who abandoned you and your mother to look for the treasures as a pirate!"_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Somebody please punch this guy in the face," mumbled Nora._

* * *

"YAH!" yelled out Usopp as he jumped off of the tree branch he had been standing on, "You better stop insulting my father, you damn bastard!"

"Why do you look so agitated?" taunted the sadistic butler with a smirk, "It's times like these where you should do what you're best at, to lie. Say that, that man isn't a true father or not your real birth-father-"

"Shut the hell up already!" screeched the afro-haired boy as he gave a powerful punch to the butler's jaw. Kaya and the three young boys gasped in shock at the sudden outburst of the long-nosed boy, but the pirate crew only stood in silence and blankness.

"About damn time," said Nora as her prayer was answered. Perhaps, she briefly thought, this liar had more guts and courage than he let on.

"See this? You immediately turned to violence. No wonder the saying goes: "Like father, like son," the butler managed to cockily accuse as he readjusted his glass for the eight hundred thousandth time in those passing minutes.

"SHUT UP. I AM PROUD OF THE FACT THAT MY FATHER IS A PIRATE! HIM BEING A BRAVE WARRIOR OF THE SEA IS SOMETHING I ADMIRE!" then he took a small breath and continued with a calmer voice, "Although it is true that I am a plain liar, a pirate's blood also flows in me and that kind of honour is not something to be looked down upon! I am the son of a pirate!

"Captain…," mumbled one of kids in sheer awe.

The butler who was still on the ground managed to somehow chuckle at the boy's words, "Pirates are warriors of the sea? You're pretty naive to have that kind of ideology," and slowly he dusted himself and stood up straight, "This only proves the fact that that barbaric blood runs through your veins! You enjoy lying and you resolve to violence whenever something upsets you. Thus, your ultimate motive is indeed to rob the wealth of the young mistress and being the son of a filthy pirate only proves that fact!"

"You insulted him again!" Usopp then, as furious and revolted as he was, quickly grabbed the butler by his collar with the same intent of hitting him once more.

"You should hit him again," said Nora out loud and while Usopp prepared his fist to do so, a cry interrupted the tense situation.

"STOP IT, IMMEDIATELY USOPP. Please detain from using violence again," yelled out the girl on the window above and it was slightly surprising to see her own outburst, "Klahadore is not a bad person! He's only doing this because he is over-protective of me."

Her words seemed to calm the boy down to a certain extent, which was a quite a bummer.

"Get out of here. Never come back to this place ever again!" the sadistic butler ordered.

"I intended to go even before you said it. I'll never come back," promised Usopp as he walked away.

Then, however, the trio of amateur pirates appeared before the tall caretaker and furiously started yelling at him, "You stupid butler, captain is not like that at all!"

"You idiot!" yelled the second one.

"You know nothing, lousy caretaker!" yelled the third one, though they went back into cowering almost instantly after glancing at the cold stare the butler gave them.

"Idiot!" angrily yelled out even Luffy, who had to be pulled back by Zoro from bursting out and killing the bastard.

"Why are you butting in all of a sudden?" the swordsman asked as he kicked the captain's head.

"You ignorant piece of tall, sadistic shit that-," also started yelling out Nora, but before she could continue her fruitful accusation, the poor navigator put her hand over the shorter girl's mouth, stopping her from finishing her outburst and holding her back from lashing out.

"Don't try to finish that sentence!" screeched Nami with her shark teeth and did her best to try and prevent Nora from audibly voicing out more unintelligent profanities.

"All of you leave at once!" ordered the butler once more, this time directing it solely on them.

"Let me go, let me have a go at him!" cried out Luffy as he struggled from Zoro's restrains.

Both navigator and swordsman took action as they quickly seized both of the remaining crew mates and hurriedly left the mansion without another outburst.

"YAH, NA-BABA! YOU'RE GOING TO CHOKE ME, GODDAMMIT," shouted out Nora. That earned her a smack on the head and a more than loud: "Stop calling me a baba."

 **…**

"I need tea," whined Nora from her position on the ground.

"You had tea when we ate," pointed out Zoro while stretching his arms.

"I need more tea since I was exposed to the presence of that butler," she explained.

"He was only doing his job, he had a right to be suspicious of Usopp," voiced out Nami as she sat on the long, farm fence. The two kids next to her were ready to stand and defend their captain until the other girl started speaking instead of them, "He had a right to be suspicious of Usopp, but he didn't have a right to objectify and be prejudiced based on his bloodline. Additionally, if he was going to objectify him loosely based on the fact that his dad is a pirate, then he had better known him damn good to sputter out accusations like that."

"What do you mean?" asked Nami.

"If you don't know the person, then speaking badly about them is just low. Had Usopp's dad brutally murdered someone innocent, then alright, I would have understood completely. But you don't know the reason why he left his family, you don't know his decisions, so saying that he is a "low-class and filthy" pirate is just, wrong," Nora explained.

"So you're saying that pirates are innocent?" Nami blurted out with slight, either annoyance or anger but looked at her dark-haired companion intensely all the same. The remaining bunch only listened to the conversation in silence. Nora looked back at the navigator and simply gave a small smile.

"I'm saying that not all pirates are bad," she said.

"Yeah! Captain is not that kind of person!"

"He would never do that to lady Kaya!"

And as they spread their defending arguments about their captain, there was a flicker of shock in Nami's eyes as she heard the other girl's answer but in moment's time, she replaced it with a small scowl and turned away from the piercing blue-eyes.

"Where's Luffy, anyway?" she changed the subject.

"Beats me, he's probably with Usopp," said Zoro.

"Captain's probably "there"," said one of the boys.

"Yep, he's probably at the coast. He goes there whenever he's upset," agreed the second, "Do you guys want to go and check on them?"

"I'll pass," quickly answered the swordsman.

"By the way, aren't you missing one guy?" asked Nami.

"Yup, Tamanegi. But he usually disappears from time to time. He'll come running and screaming any second now."

"How exciting," added Nora.

As on queue, little onion boy came running and screaming.

"It's horrible, guys! There's a crazy man!" he yelled.

"Hey now, kid. There's no need to be rude. There are all kinds of disabilities in the world, you would be surprised to see that-"

"It's a crazy guy walking backwards!" Tamanegi tried to explain while unconsciously interrupting the short girl.

"Liar!" the other two vegetable-looking kids said in odd synchronization.

"Well, I guess it's hard for a kid to listen to a kid," the swordsman teased the black-haired girl nonchalantly. The mischievous grin on his face only made the short girl's eye twitch in utter annoyance.

"Go bald, you damn Aegagropila linnaei." Zoro was too dumbfounded at her use of words to throw in a retort of his own.

"Look!"

Sure enough, a slightly tall man with a fabulous pair of heart-shaped sunglasses and hat, moonwalked his way to them.

"Hey you. Who was it that called me a weird guy?" he asked while holding one hand on top of his hat and the other one to his side. He didn't even stand straight with his legs, "I," he paused before slightly dancing to nonexistent music, "am not a weird guy."

"Looks weird to me," said Nami.

"That's ridiculous," the weird man defended.

"Is that a mushroom stem growing on your chin?" curiously asked Nora as she kept looking on the funny-looking plant-beard.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"How'd you get it?"

"It was a terrible night for me."

"I see."

Everyone was too baffled and shocked to say anything. Eventually, though, the awkward silence was broken by the weird man, "I'm just a hypnotist walking by."

"Wow, you're a hypnotist?"

"Show us a demonstration!"

"Yeah! Show us!" yelled the trio of excited kids.

The wanna-be Michael Jackson angrily turned to face them, "What? Why would I bother showing my hypnotic skills to a bunch of strangers I just met?"

But then he pulled out a ring attached to a string and turned to face the kids, his voice bright and polite, "Look now."

While Zoro thought how absurd that appeared, Nora wasted no time to voice it out openly.

"Are you an idiot?"

"Nonsense. I am a plain hypnotist," was his only answer to her before turning to look at the boys again, "When I say: "One, Two, Jango", you will fall asleep. Ready?"

Then he started moving the string of the ring in synchronization with his command.

"One."

"Two."

"Jango."

All four of them, including the moonwalking buffoon fell to the ground and started snoring loudly.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" yelled out Zoro, annoyed.

"The act of an idiot," answered Nora while she burst out laughing.

It was shortly after that stunning performance and a brief second of Zoro kicking awake the hypnotist, that the same weird hypnotist continued on his merry way and the gang were left alone on the side of the road once more.

"He wasn't so bad," said one of the boys that looked like a carrot.

"If you say so, Ninjin. I still think he's weird," mumbled Tamanegi, one of the boys that resembled an onion.

 **Wait.**

Ninjin literally means carrot.

Tamanegi means onion.

Suddenly, there was a glint of amusement and sudden realization in Nora's eyes. That glint went unnoticed unfortunately.

"Let me guess," she started and pointed at the pepper-looking boy who hadn't added any of his own thoughts during their little conversation, "Your name is Piiman?"

The boy nervously chuckled but nodded nonetheless, "Yeah?"

"This…is…too…much…," mumbled out Nora as she tried her best to stifle her upcoming laughter.

"Eh? What is?" they yelled out with demanding tones. The swordsman and navigator realized what was going on.

"Nora don't-" Nami tried to reason.

"Were you guys named like that intentionally or did you guys "grow into" the name?" at that, unable to contain herself from her own stupid pun, Nora burst out laughing.

The swordsman and navigator only sighed in defeat.

"That was lame, you brat," said Zoro but the mentioned brat only continued laughing while the three boys looked horrified.

Good times.

 **…**

"Captain is late," stated Ninjin as he stared at the road ahead.

"Luffy's late as well," also stated Zoro.

"Maybe it was just too much of a shock to handle. Captain usually goes to the shore and calms down there," said one of the veggie-children.

Suddenly, however, a breathless Usopp came running down the hill and quickly passed the gang with not much more than a single glance.

"Wasn't Luffy suppose to be with him?" calmly asked Zoro.

"Where's Luffy? Didn't he go to the coast with you…?" Nami tried to ask Usopp but he ignored that as well and continued his wild run towards the direction of the town.

"You don't suppose he's still angry about that guy insulting his father?" asked Nami directing the question to no one in particular.

"Beats me," the swordsman responded.

"I highly doubt it," added Nora.

"No! It's different!" said one of the young pirates.

"His expression was different!" said another one.

"Something must have happened at the coast!" finished the third one.

"Alright, so how do we get to the coast?" asked the moss-haired swordsman. The kids, however, huddled into a circle and ignored him.

"You guys also think that something happened at the coast right?"

"Yeah!"

"I got that already! Which way is the coast?" demanded a more than ticked off Zoro.

"This way, hurry!" and the trio were already running off ahead, their appearance slowly ceasing into to nothing but a distant shadow.

"God, I hate running after people," murmured Nora with a childish pout. Nami gave the girl a side glance that taunted the girl's chosen words. The black-haired girl had to raise her hands in the air and admit surrender at the navigator's gaze.

"No, you're right. I hate running in general," she simply admitted which caused Nami to chuckled and Zoro to smirk.

"Running's too tiresome for you, your highness? It might help to drink some milk so that your leg bones grow a little," he teased. The short girl scowled as she feared she was two seconds away from punching him in the face. Instead of doing just that, she shook her head, cried out a "Go bald, Zoro" and quickly disappeared.

Both swordsman and navigator were utterly confused and dumbfounded at the girl's sudden disappearance until they took notice of a small shadow at the end of the road, up the hill where the kids were still running to. Both of them looked at each other, shook their head and started running to catch with the shadows.

Upon nearing the small shadow that was waving at them, cheerfully, they heard Nora shouting, "I'll have you know that I _walked_."

"This is it," announced one of the boys when all of them gathered on top of the high hill, the sea shore only laying a couple of hundreds of meters below it. It was a pretty high and frightening distance and if someone were to fall over, then... Hopefully, no one was lucky enough to fall.

"Captain comes here to heal his wounded heart. It's feels good to be here," another one added.

"That straw hat boy isn't here," concluded Piiman as they finished their quick search of the hill.

"Guys, I got this," smiled Nora and quietly took a deep breath. Zoro raised his eyebrow at her upcoming antic.

"SHANKS IS NOTHING BUT A FILTHY LIAR!" she yelled out. She quietly started a countdown on her fingers.

 **3.**

 **2.**

 **1.**

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY ABOUT SHANKS?" yelled out a familiar voice beneath the hill.

"There he is."

* * *

 **Author's note:** The Teddy Bear song belongs to Jeffrey S. Foreman, although I did add one verse. I remeber doing a project back in middle school about favourite inanimate objects and upon researching I found the poem and I loved it. It also has a deeper meaning in this story later on. And I know, I know, these chapters are pretty much filler, quite boring to read and generally revolve around getting use to Nora's character, but I need to have them. Next chapter is going to have action, so we'll see if I'm capable enough of writing action sequences. Please bare with me, guys! x o x

 **xxx**

 **Ergelina:** I feel you. Not enough of that pairing on this site. But we'll see! Thank you so much for loving the story and I'm so glad you're liking Nora, that means I'm not doing such a shitty job at representing an OC. x

 **pizzafan123:** I remember the first time I read about the butler and I remember instantly knocking my head over the table whenever he spoke. Thank you for reading, my dear. x


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